Bends

I wanted to throw a question out to the group. We all know about the no fly time after diving, but I was wondering if anyone faced any symptoms of the bends on a drive back from a dive site here in Atlantic Canada where we have many hills and some are quiet high?

I am aware of altitude and its risks, but I am wondering if anyone faced it or heard of someone that did?

Can't comment on Canada but I know of at least two people who have developed bends whilst driving home from a week diving Scapa Flow in Orkney.

The drive involves passing over Drumochter at an altitude of around 1500 feet.

In both cases diving had finished around 20-24 hours earlier, both divers initially developed undue tiredness then joint pains. By the time they got home and decided to seek medical assistance they were beginning to develop neurological symptoms too.

Both were successfully recompressed.

Those are the two I know of, I'm fairly sure there'll be others.

anassrat:

I wanted to throw a question out to the group. We all know about the no fly time after diving, but I was wondering if anyone faced any symptoms of the bends on a drive back from a dive site here in Atlantic Canada where we have many hills and some are quiet high?

I am aware of altitude and its risks, but I am wondering if anyone faced it or heard of someone that did?

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Your hills are not nearly high enough to be of any concern. Alberta and interior BC divers routinely drive over the Coquihalla Pass (4000') in BC on their way home without problem.

Hickdive:

The drive involves passing over Drumochter at an altitude of around 1500 feet.

In both cases diving had finished around 20-24 hours earlier, both divers initially developed undue tiredness then joint pains. By the time they got home and decided to seek medical assistance they were beginning to develop neurological symptoms too.

Click to expand...

1500' and 20 hours after? The were already bent. The fact that they developed symptoms after the drive was just coincidence.

For more information, you might want to have a look at the NOAA Ascent to Altitude Table. Playing with the tables, I suppose it's theoretically possible to get into the 'risky' area (i.e. a few percent chance of a problem) if you did a really long shallow square profile dive and then really really rushed to the highest possible point, but since the highest point in Atlantic Canada outside Labrador is only about 2650', it seems unlikely.